Seemingly, I have been in the planning stages of a safari for ages. Up until recently my plans only included myself. Now, however, my wife is showing some real interest in going and not only being a spectator.

She loves to watch my Boddington on Buffalo videos and she has been encouraged by the two Cape Buffalo hunts that involved women on the second video.

Anyway, the problem is that my wife is just a little bitty thing. Shooting sticks will help, no doubt, but I still can't imagine her being comfortable with a heavy rifle. Sooooo, to make a long story short, what do y'all think about the Ruger No. 1 in 400 NE for a small-framed woman on a buffalo hunt? Of course we will practice until the cows come home (pardon the pun) before we leave.

What about that rifle? Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Landrum

You might consider the 9.3X62 in a bolt or 9.3X74 in a double or single shot. Many men swear by them for buff and their recoil will be much easier for her to handle.

465H&H

I also would opt for a 9.3x62, it is a decent buffalo caliber with proper bullets and recoil is much less than a 450-400..Even a 375 would have less recoil..

You might even consider the 375 Ruger and load the 270 gr. Barnes X or whatever to about 2200 FPS, that will work fine on buffalo and the gun itself isn't real heavy.

Yeah, a 9.3x62 is more than she probably wants. If she wants more than that she is not tiny as you say.

You can buy a CZ 9.3 cheap. I would download 300 gr. Swifts to about 2100 fps, and see how bad that is on her.

She's 5'3", 105 lbs.

I was just thinking back to when I was a young boy and I shot all sorts of rifles that my dad and grandfather owned. I learned from a young age that recoil is just that, recoil; it's not going to kill you. She shoots my 9.3 fairly well now but she has shown interest in acquiring a larger rifle. I just don't know how practical it will be for her.
Anyway...thanks for your suggestions.

Landrum

I would let her decide. I would let her pick. I think a 375H&H that is made to fit her would be a great place to start. Just as your rifle must fit so you can shoot it well and handle the recoil. You could down load it a little if needed but she seams to understand the requirements to shoot buffalo. I have a friend that isn’t much bigger than your wife and her main rifle is a 375H&H from mule deer to big bear.
I would vote against a #1 they don’t handle recoil and are a single shot.
One other thing get the rifle soon enough she can get some good practice with it and get use to shooting it.
Bill

Another vote for the 9.3x62 and 9.3x74. Even though I have several .500s I'll be using my 9.3 on buff next April because of the light weight. She'll appreciate being able to carry a lighter rifle rather than a 9.5lb or heaiver one.

Sometimes a very small person can shoot the big bores better than the big folks, they seem to give to the recoil better..If your wife shoots the 9.3 very well and wants something bigger then the 450-400 is the practical choice but the rifle will weigh about 10 pounds and thats a bunch to pack around in the heat..

Another option might be the 10.75x68, with a handload it makes a nice light ladies rifle with same balistics of the 450-400 or the original 404...

The 404 at the original balistics can be made in a nice light rifle with minimum recoil and would probably be my choice, A 400 gr. bullet at 2100 FPS is very effective.

The 375 Ruger loaded with 350 gr. Woodleighs at about 2100 to 2200 or with the Norma fac. loads would also fit the bill for her..

You have a lot of choices.

quote:

Sometimes a very small person can shoot the big bores better than the big folks

That's why heavyweight contenders only weigh 85 lbs.

quote:

She shoots my 9.3 fairly well now

I hate these sort of posts, as I feel I am getting set up. It is sort of implied that she hasn't shot anything bigger than 22 LR and we come to find out she shoots a hot-rodded 9.3x62 from the hip, and also on horseback.

Go for the 600 NE as she probably won't feel a thing when it goes off.

There was no trickery involved in my post. She likes to shoot my 9.3 CZ and that is all there is to it.

Next up is the CZ 375 H&H but it is so heavy, at least for her, that I was looking for other options.

Landrum

A 9.3x62 or 9.3x74R would be a good option, as would a low velocity .400 or 10.75mm as suggested by Ray Atkinson.

A Buffalo from Northern Mozambique taken with a mild recoiling 9.3x62 with Woodleigh 320grn Solids.

What Ray said. I've known a couple of petite women who could handle hard kicking guns all day.....and like it. Fit is the main thing. If she likes big bores, then get her one and let her rip.

It sounds like she can handle a rifle and I would bet she is a good shooter. With that assumption and I am sure there will be back up for a true emergency I think the 9.3X74 in a Ruger #1 would be ideal as it is not heavy and the recoil is not bad at all. Use Barnes TS.

My better half thinks lighting off a double barrel 12 gauge is something to do for relaxation when the housework is done, so I had a mercury recoil tube and a 1" Decelerator added to the 450/400 NE #1 and now she thinks it's just about perfect for taking pot shots at the raccoons.

So how hard does the #! in 450/400 really kick? I mean if you were comparing it to the following calibers, what(approximately) would it be like?
Brno 602 in 375 H&H, Winchester 70 in 338 Rem Mag,
Ruger 77 in 300 Rem Mag or a Drilling 9.3x74R? The Drilling is a Merkel by the way. These are the heavy kickers I own or have shot.

So, all you guys shoot this caliber but no one can comment on its recoil???

Here you go:

http://huntamerica.com/recoil_calculator/

Speaking of Boddington... He mentions in his book about a fella asking about .35 Whelen on buff. The reason was pretty much the same as yours, Landrum: a smallish better half wanting to shoot buff.
Thinking of it, he came to the conclusion that yes it could be done: 250grs premium bullet and good shot placement.

However, the Whelen being rather close to the 9,3x62 I'd say if your wife's comfortable with that, then I see no reason to "downgrade". After all, the 9,3's proved to be a premier buffalo caliber. This applies both to the 62 and the 74 whose ballistics are almost identical, and they use the same bullets, too.
So on the other hand I'm also saying that I see no reason to go up to the .400, neither, although on basis of all accounts it's even a more premier buffalo caliber.
Think about it: she's comfortable with the 9,3 CZ, she knows how to shoot it, good loads and bullets are plentiful, it's got a proven track record as caliber. To me that equates to: "use it!"

There is a lady on here I know that hunts cape buffalo with a custom Dakota 375H&H and she weights about 95#...and is around 5'2" tall,she loves that round & rifle over all of the others hands down for eveything she hunts & shoots full power loads in it, she thinks nothing of it...Shoots it all the time,she loves the 375H&H.... Who Doesnt?

I would say the 375 H&H using sticks. The recoil
would NOT be alot on sticks.

If she wants her own rifle, and wants one bigger than a 9.3X62, then I'd buy her a Ruger African rifle chambered for 375 Ruger, get a good padded sling, and change the recoil pad to something a little softer,at the same time adjusting the pull length for her, install a murcury unit in the stock. The rifle is light as it needs to be for a cartridge of that recoil, and is light enough to carry all day with a sling.

If you want to go a little higher in price point, then a second suggestion is a new Merkel model 141 double rifle chambered for 9.3X74R, with a QD scope. The whole package wouldn't weigh more than about 8.5 pounds with the scope mounted, and loaded! That would be pure AFRICA for her!

After reading all your comments about your wife, it seems, to me, she isn't really recoil shy, but needs a light rifle for carrying. I suggest , if you mount a scope on this rifle, I'd choose as long eye relief as I could find,especially if the stock is shortened. The last thing you want is her getting a scull fracture from the scope hitting her in the eyebrow.

Small, lightly built, people handle recoil much better than large folks! The large guy absorbs all the recoil, while the light guy rolls with the recoil. There are many women in my aquaintance, who shoot 470NE doubles regularly. My mother was only 5'2", and weighed maybe 90 lbs, and she shot doves with a 12ga single barreled shotgun that belonged to her father. That old shotgun couldn't have weighed more than 7 pounds if that much, and kicked like a mule with duck loads.

It is great that she wants to hunt Cape Buffalo. That is a dream she will enjoy as long as she lives. Congratulations Sir, you have picked the right woman! Now pick the right rifle for her!

I have never used the 9.3, but based upon the experience of others here who have, I would suggest that she would be well armed with it. An accurate shot with a 9.3 is better than a poor shot with something larger.
Having said that, if she is sold on something larger than I would look in to a CZ in 404 Jeffery. It's recoil is not much greater than a 375, but the impact on a Buffalo is significantly greater. If you are going to step up from a 9.3 in recoil, you should step up in impact also. I doubt that the 375 is significantly better than the 9.3. The 404 is. The only downside is lack of availability of factory ammo, you really have to reload.
As for switching to the 375; the only reasons to switch from the 9.3 to the 375 are: The Law, the 9.3 is not legal everywhere, the 375 is, and romance, the 375 H&H is arguably THE African caliber.

TerryR

Thsnkd to those who replied. Now I don't feel scared to buy and shoot one.

My 450-400 recoils a little less than my 416 Ruger, 416 Rem and 404 Jefferys..go figure, if you shoot a 400 gr. bullet at 2400 you get a tad less recoil than at the 2200 FPS of the 450-400. and a bit more than a .375..

BUT in a Ruger no. 1, they are several pounds lighter than most doubles so the spectrum changes and the recoil of the 450-400 would be about equal to most .416 Rem. etc.